Rivals
by hellbutterfly91
Summary: A Weapon & Meister team since they were kids, Nova & Ripper have just transferred to the DWMA. Shortly after arriving they find themselves rivals with none other than Maka & Soul. However when a new evil arises with a grudge against the DWMA will Nova & Ripper be able to team up with Maka & Soul and put aside grudges to defeat it?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer!: I own none of these characters except for Nova. I don't even own Ripper as he is based off a real person. Thank you & happy reading :D**_

My clock rang shrilly from beside me scaring me from my sleep. Before I could stop myself I had rolled out of bed and now lay tangled on the floor in my sheets. A second later my door popped open and standing in the doorway was my partner Ripper looking at me confused.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a yawn.

"Fine. I just fell out of bed." I replied looking back at him.

"Again, Nova?" he asked as he walked over and pulled me from the floor.

"Oh hush. That damn alarm clock scares the hell out of me. Remind me why I can't have one with a different sound?" I asked.

"Because you won't wake up and I'll have to drag your butt out of bed." He replied with a smirk as he walked towards the door.

"Would not." I muttered and shut the door behind him.

I pulled my hair out of the braids I had worn to bed to keep it's natural curl from overtaking my head. My hair went into a ponytail and I began to pull out clothes to wear for the day. Once dressed I turned to the photo of my Mother on the nightstand and quickly said goodbye and headed out to the living room where Ripper was already dressed, flipping through the TV channels.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yep." he replied and turned off the TV before following me out the door.

We climbed the three flights of stairs down to the main floor before emerging onto the cobbled streets of Death City. The sun was already smiling it's trademark maniacal grin high above us making it just that much hotter than normal.

The two of us had been in Death City for less than a week, having moved to the city from the beach side city that was probably one of the most boring places on the face of the planet earth. We had found an apartment with very little problem and had just finished unpacking our things the night before.

The two of us stopped at Deathbucks long enough to grab a coffee each before making our way towards the large building looming in the distance. The building was known as Death Weapon Meister Academy or DWMA for short and as of today Ripper and I were the newest students.

"So are you ready for this?" Ripper asked as we walked.

"Are you kidding? I'm totally psyched. We finally are getting to train and learn in the school built by Lord Death himself!" I grinned.

"You think it's going to be everything our parents said it was?"

I sighed, "I hope so."

We continued walking and were nearly there when we heard a roar from behind us. I turned just in time to see a guy with white hair roar past us on a orange motorcycle, a blonde girl on the back holding on tight. Ripper just managed to grab a hold of my arm and pull me out of the way.

"Jerk!" I yelled as the bike disappeared down the street.

"You okay?" Ripper asked as I straightened the goggles perched on my head.

"Fine. Thanks for that." I replied.

"No problem. That guy needs to watch where he's going." Ripper said shaking his head.

I shook my head, "C'mon before we're late for our first day."

Ripper nodded and we started walking again.

"You know…not that I approve of what that guy did…but that bike was pretty sweet." Ripper said.

I rolled my eyes, "Just move your tail."

Ten minutes later we were standing in front of the DWMA, staring up at the large spiked skulls that adorned the school.

"This is it." I said.

"That it is." Ripper nodded beside me.

"You nervous?" I asked looking at him.

"Nah. We're Nova and Ripper. The best Meister and Weapon team to ever rock this school." he replied giving me an encouraging smile. I knew he could tell that my stomach was just that much uneasy about all of this.

"Right." I replied.

The two of us headed inside and a few moments later we were approached by a man with shoulder length red hair.

"You must be Nova Clark and Ripper Thomas. I'm Spirit Albarn, Death Scythe. Follow me and I'll take you to the Death Room." he said and motioned for us to follow him.

The school was huge. We took so many different turns down so many different halls that I lost count. I had no clue how I was ever going to find my way around.

Finally we stopped in front of a large skull shaped door marked 'Death Room'. Spirit Albarn opened the door and lead us inside.

On the other side was of the door was a walkway of torii gates shaped like guillotines that lead to a dome shaped room. At least I thought it was dome shaped. The ceiling looked like the sky with the exception of a few windows that dotted it. On either side what looked like miles of dusty land stretched out, haphazard crosses dotting it every so far.

Finally in the middle of the room was a platform with a large mirror. Reflected in it was Lord Death himself.

"Lord Death, I've brought the newest students as you requested." Death Scythe Albarn said.

"Hello there to both of you! Welcome to the DWMA!" he said in a cheerful voice.

"It's an honor to be here Lord Death." Ripper said with a nod.

"Very much so." I agreed.

"Tell me how are your fathers doing? Still partners?" he asked.

"Yes sir." we both nodded.

My father and Ripper's had been a team back when they'd attended the DWMA. My father was a Cannon type Weapon and Ripper's father had been his Meister. Dad had never actually been made into a Death Scythe but they'd been one of the top teams in their class. For the most part they were retired from hunting Keshins but whenever one would pop up around the area they were dispatched to take care of it but that was rare.

"Very good. Now how would you like to show me your technique? I've heard from your fathers that you're quite the pair but I'd like to see for myself if you don't mind." Lord Death replied motioning towards a dummy that was set up at the edge of the platform.

"Of course. Ripper?" I asked turning to look at him.

He didn't say anything just changed and a moment later he sat in my hand.

Ripper was a katana. He had an orange wrap around his handle and an orange sheath to match. I never felt more powerful than when I was wielding him. Felling the weight of his weapon form in my hand was comforting and invigorating at the same time.

"You may start whenever you're ready." Lord Death said.

"Lets show him what we have." Ripper's voice echoed in my head.

"Right." I nodded and took a deep breath.

"SOUL RESONANCE! BRIGHT STRIKE SLASH!" We both screamed and I brought Ripper up and through the air, charging at the dummy.

There was a flash of bright and blinding light. A moment later when it died away the dummy we'd been told to aim at lay in a mass of stuffing.

"Oh! Bravo! Wonderful! You two are a perfect fit!" Lord Death said clapping.

"Thank you." I nodded as Ripper transformed back.

"Now that we have that settled I'm sure that you both know about collecting souls and such correct?" he asked.

"99 Keshin souls." I said.

"And one Witch's soul." Ripper finished.

"Very good. Now Spirit if you will would you please show Ripper and Nova to Dr. Stein's class?" Lord Death said.

"Of course. Come with me." Death Scythe Albarn said and bid goodbye to Lord Death before following him out of the Death Room.

"Your Resonance was quite impressive. You should get along well with the others here. We have several advanced teams of Meisters here, some of whom helped face the Kishin that I'm sure that you heard escaped last year. My own daughter Maka will be in your class. She's a very talented Scythe Master just like her mother. I'm sure that you'll meet her soon. She's very friendly. " Death Scythe Albarn said and a second later we arrived at the door of a class, the sign hanging over it reading 'Crescent Moon'.

Death Scythe Albarn reached out and opened the door before walking in, motioning for us to follow.

"Stein?" he said and a man with white hair turned towards us.

"Is that a screw in the middle of his head?" Ripper muttered low enough that only I could hear him.

I looked at him and gave a small shrug. I was distracted by the stitches running down the side of his face.

"Are these them?" Stein asked.

"Yes they are. Nova, Ripper, this is Dr. Stein. He'll be your instructor." Death Scythe Albarn said.

"Nice to meet you." I said.

Dr. Stein nodded and turned towards the others, "Can I have everyone's attention please?" and it grew quiet.

"Class I would like to introduce you to your two newest classmates. This is Meister Katana Weapon Nova Clark and Meister Ripper Thomas-" but Ripper quickly interrupted him.

"Actually I'm the Weapon. Nova's the Meister." he said.

Dr. Stein looked at us for a moment and I felt a chill go down my spine as he replied, "Interesting…" before turning back to the crowd.

"Sorry it is Ripper that is the weapon and Nova that is the Meister. Until this term they have been studying under the tutelage of their fathers. Now they have decided to attend DWMA. I hope will you will welcome them. Ripper, Nova, feel free to sit where you like." Dr. Stein said.

"C'mon. I see some seats up there." Ripper said and led me up the steps of the rows of seats.

I had hardly sat down when suddenly someone jumped up and landed hard on the desk in front of me making me jump.

"You probably already know who I am right?!"

I looked up and saw he had spiky blue hair and a cocky grin.

"Um…no?" I replied.

He looked confused for a moment before smirking again, "Well then let me introduce myself! I am Black Star! I am the one who will surpass God himself!"

I looked at Ripper who looked as disturbed as much as I did by this kid.

"Black Star! Don't bother them! Sorry! He's a little hyper." A girl with a long dark ponytail and a kind face said hurrying over.

"It's okay." Ripper said.

"I'm Tsubaki and you've met Black Star." she said motioning to the blue haired guy still standing on the desk in front of me.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Nova and this is Ripper." I replied.

"Hey! Your name means star right? I hope you don't think you're going to be a bigger star than me!" Black Star said looking at me.

"Maka Chop!"

Suddenly a book came flying out of nowhere and landed square on top of Black Star's head. He fell off the desk, rubbing the lump that had formed.

"What was that for?!" he asked.

"For harassing the new students!" a girl with pigtails said as she walked over, a guy with droopy red eyes and sharp teeth behind her.

"Maka's right Black Star. Give them a break. They haven't even been here 10 minutes and you're already being rude." a girl with long hair who sat behind me said as she inspected her nails. Next to her sat a guy in a suit. One side of his hair was black while the other had white stripes running horizontally on it. On his other side a blond girl who was smiling cheerfully as she hummed and scribbled something on the paper in front of her.

"That must be a new record for even you Black Star." the kid with striped hair replied.

"I'm just trying to let them know who's top dog around here!" Black Star replied.

"Ignore him. I'm Maka and this is my partner Soul. That's Death The Kid and his partners Liz and Patty." Maka smiled.

"You're Death Scythe Albarn's daughter right?" Ripper asked.

The smile dropped a little from Maka's face but it stayed there as she nodded.

"So how long have you two been partners?" Soul asked taking a seat in front of Ripper and I.

"Since we were kids. It just kind of happened." I replied.

"Cool." he nodded.

"How long have you two been in Death City?" Tsubaki asked.

"Almost a week now." Ripper replied.

"We've been unpacking for most of that time though." I added.

"You should come with us to lunch then!" Patty grinned from where she sat behind us.

"We would love to show you around Death City a little." Maka replied.

I looked at Ripper who shrugged, "We'd love to."

Suddenly the school bell rang, "Then lets get going. If we don't hurry there will be a line at the café." Liz said.

I grabbed my bag and Ripper grabbed his as we followed the others out of the classroom and out of the school. As we made our way down the steps towards town I spotted the motorcycle that had nearly ran us down that morning.

"Hey…who owns that?" I asked pointing to the bike.

"The motorcycle? That's mine." Soul replied.

"Yours?" Ripper asked stopping and looking at him.

"Yeah why?" Soul asked looking confused.

"How about the fact that you nearly ran the two of us over this morning?" I said looking at him.

"You were the two morons that were walking in the middle of the road?" Soul asked looking at us.

"Morons? Excuse me but I am far from a moron. We were walking on the side of the street. You were the one going too damn fast." I replied.

"Maybe if you watched were you were going when you were walking you wouldn't nearly get hit." Soul replied.

"When people are driving they're supposed to look out for pedestrians! How do you even have a license?!" I asked.

"Pedestrians don't usually walk in the middle of the damn road!" Soul replied his voice getting louder.

I had a bit of a temper. Someone yelled at me I wasn't the type to back down. And there was no way I was backing down from this kid.

"I told you! We were walking on the side! It was you that was driving like a lunatic!" I yelled back.

"Don't call me a lunatic you psycho jaywalker!" Soul replied.

"Don't call me psycho!" I spat.

"I call them as I see them!" Soul yelled back.

"Oh you do, do you? Do you have any other accusations you want to make albino boy?!" I growled.

"Oh now it's personal!" Soul said.

"It was personal the moment you called me a psycho. Why don't we settle this the right way?!" I challenged.

"Oh you're on!" Soul yelled and a moment later his arm was a scythe blade.

"Ripper! Katana mode!" I yelled at my partner.

"Nova why don't you just calm down?" Ripper suggested.

"Agreed. Soul you should calm down too!" Maka said.

"She started it!" Soul said pointing at me with his bladed hand, nearly taking my eye out.

"Hey! Watch where you're pointing that thing! You nearly hit my Meister!" Ripper said.

"Maybe if she wasn't standing so close trying to be badass I wouldn't have almost hit her!" Soul replied.

"Man you have some sort of aiming issue. You should get that checked out before you hurt someone!" Ripper replied.

"Soul's eyes are just fine thank you! Maybe it's the two of you that have the problem." Maka retorted.

"We don't have any problem here except your weapon continuously trying to take the two of us out!" I said.

"Alright that's it! Let's go Soul!" Maka yelled.

"Right!" Soul nodded and transformed into a Scythe.

"Katan-" but before I could finish my sentence Ripper had already transformed.

"Hey! Both of you cut it out! This is not the time or the reason for this!" Kid suddenly yelled.

"Yeah both of you calm down!" Liz said and a moment later I felt her hands on my arms.

"Let me go!" I struggled.

"Yeah let them go! I want to see them fight!" Black Star yelled.

"No! This is childish! Soul! Ripper! Both of you transform back." Liz spat.

A moment Ripper was next to me and Soul was next to Maka.

"If you two want to duke it out do it tomorrow. We have a skills test then. I'm sure Stein wouldn't object to observing your teams." Kid said looking at us.

"Fine! It's a date then!" I growled.

"You bet." Soul agreed.

"Good. Now lets go get lunch. I'm starving." Liz said and before any of us could protest she started off back down the steps.

Ripper and I followed with Black Star and Tsubaki behind us serving as a barrier between us and Soul and Maka who were bringing up the rear. I couldn't wait for tomorrow. No one calls my partner and I psycho.

* * *

_**Hi! **_

_**So this is my first Soul Eater story! I have seen the anime and I LOVE it so much and i've always wanted to write a story about it. However I had zero inspiration until I had a conversation with my friend Eric (who Ripper is based on) and came up with this! **_

_**I hope you enjoyed it and comments and **__**constructive**__** criticism is always welcome!**_

_**Thanks!**_


	2. Chapter 2

"God can you believe those two?" I growled as I sat down on the couch, drying my hair.

"What two?" Ripper asked looking up from the manga in his hand.

"Maka and Soul." I replied.

"Oh yeah them." he nodded.

"Are you still going on about that?" he asked.

"That white haired red eyed albino nearly ran me over, called me psycho and then nearly poked my eye out with his blade. Yes I am still going on about that." I frowned.

"Well you should relax. We'll get our chance to face them tomorrow." he replied.

"Can't come fast enough." I replied as I tossed my towel aside and stood up walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry…we'll take them down tomorrow." Ripper assured me.

"We had better. I'm going to knock that cocky asshat on his butt." I said as I grabbed a juice from the fridge before plopping down on the couch again.

"My Dad called while you were in the shower." Ripper replied ignoring my threat.

"What did he say?" I asked looking at him.

He took a deep breath, "He said that he and your Dad were actually on the trail of a Keshin right now."

"Awesome. And our moms?" I asked.

"They're doing better." he replied.

I nodded and popped open my juice taking a long drink.

"Did he say anything about Hype?" I asked.

"Just that he's still staying with your grandparents and goofing off." Ripper said snagging my juice, taking a long drink.

Almost a year before the both of our mothers had taken a trip to Death City. They had grown up there and that was where they had met our Dads. Two days after they had arrived the Keshin had been set free.

The madness had spread and unknown to us our mothers were both very susceptible. Both had lost their minds thanks to it. They had yet to regain their sanity. Since Ripper and I had moved to Death City and my Dad was out with Ripper's hunting Kishins my younger brother Hyperion, Hype for short, was stuck living in Florida with our Grandparents. He wasn't happy about it.

Shaking the negative thoughts from my brain I drained the rest of my juice and stood up.

"I'm heading to bed. We have to be rested up if we're going to win our match tomorrow so don't stay up too late." I said.

Ripper nodded, not looking up from the Manga in his hands.

"Night."

I gave him a wave and headed to my room, almost falling asleep instantly.

I woke the next morning to the screech of my alarm. Smacking it silent I crawled out of bed and walked out of my room. After a minor silent battle between Ripper and I for who got custody of the shower first I stepped under the warm spray.

Once I was sufficiently clean I wrapped myself in a robe and headed for my room. I dressed in sweat pants and a tank top before tossing a clean towel into my gym bag and headed towards the kitchen. Grabbing Ripper and I's water bottles from the freezer I filled them up with water before checking the clock which said we were running late.

"Ripper! Move it!" I yelled.

"I'm coming I'm coming, woman." he said as he walked out, slinging his gym bag on his back.

"Don't call me woman." I said sticking my tongue out at him..

"You are one." he replied with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and tossed him his water bottle before heading for the door. The walk to school didn't take long and we headed straight for the gym. Everyone was already there by the time we arrived and I instantly felt all eyes turn to us.

Ripper and I quickly discarded our bags on a bench near the door and hurried to join the others. Professor Stein looked at the two of us, the light from the windows at the top of the room glinting off the lenses.

"Nice of you to join us, Ripper, Nova." he said.

"Sorry." I muttered.

Professor Stein nodded, "Well since you both are tardy I think you'll be the first group up for the skills test today. I hear that you two are interested in a match against Soul and Maka anyway."

"That we are." Ripper nodded glancing at Soul and Maka.

"Very well then. Nova, Ripper, Maka, Soul…step forward." Stein said.

The four or us walked forward, everyone else forming a circle with us in the middle, Stein between us.

"Alright I'll give a quick over view of the rules since you two are new. There will be no large scale attacks and no physical hits using the weapons. First one to be pinned or to tap out is the loser. Got it?" Stein asked.

"Got it." Ripper and I replied.

"Good. Now take your stances." Stein said.

Ripper changed into his weapon from and I gripped his Tsuka as Soul changed into his Scythe form and Maka took hold of his handle.

"Alright in 3...2...1 GO!" Stein said and Maka and I began to circle one another, our eyes locked.

_"Why aren't we making a move?"_ I heard Ripper ask.

"We're waiting…they'll make the first move. I can feel it." I replied.

And I was right.

A second later with a yell and a swing Maka came at me. I ducked the swing of her scythe and brought Ripper up, the metal of Soul's blade meeting Ripper's with a clang. The both of us pushed away and circled each other yet again before I took my turn charging.

The blades met and this time I didn't push away instead I swung my leg out knocking Maka's out from underneath her. She gave a shout of surprise but rolled over and back onto her feet.

The two of us continued our little dance. The room echoed with the clangs of our weapons. Sweat dripped down my face but I kept a tight grip on Ripper. I knew if I fumbled him for a second that I would lose. I could see Maka was growing as tired as I was but was equally determined.

_"It's time to end this Nova." Ripper said._

I nodded, "Agreed. Ready?"

"Ready." Ripper said, his face glinting off the blade, his mouth turned up in a smirk.

I charged forward with as much force as I could muster and I realized right before Maka and I made contact that she intended for this to be her final blow as well. With as much power as we were both putting out it wasn't going to end well. However we couldn't stop and a split second later we proved Newton's Third Law as we collided and we thrown back.

_"Ow…that kinda sucked." Ripper groaned._

"You're telling me." I replied as I pulled myself up. My shoulder was aching something awful but I couldn't stop now because I could see Maka getting up on the other side of the room.

"Alright I'm calling the fight." Stein said.

"But Professor nobody won yet." Maka said looking at Stein.

"Yes I know but I don't think we're going to get anywhere. It's pointless." Stein replied.

"It's not pointless Professor. Please let us continue." I said.

"I agree." Maka nodded.

Stein looked between the two of us before sighing, "I guess you two can continue. Next physical blow wins."

"Right." Maka and I replied at the same time.

I took a deep breath and got into position the same time Maka did. I got ready to attack when suddenly…

"FOOLS!"

My head turned and I saw emerging from the crowd that had gathered around us a small white…thing. It had a long pointed nose and wore a top hat, a white coat and carried a cane.

There was a groan from my left and I turned to see both Kid and Black Star with looks of disgust and loathing on their faces.

"Who is that?" Ripper asked turning back from his katana form.

"Allow me to introduce myself! I am the Holy Sword Excalibur!" He said and struck a pose that most of the time would elicit a round of applause but instead there were several muffled groans.

"As in King Arthur?" I asked looking at him.

"Ah-hah! So you have heard of me! Now I'm sure that you'd love to hear about my many adventures! In fact! You're required to! Now take a seat and behold my glory!" Excalibur said waving his cane around.

I looked at Ripper who looked at me. Neither of us were sure what to do. However we didn't have to think about it for long because a second later hands grabbed our arms and dragged us from the room at top speed.

A few seconds later we stopped a few feet from the door.

"What was that about?" Ripper asked looking at the others who were out of breath from sprinting.

"Yeah who was that guy?" I asked.

"That was Excalibur. Trust me. You don't want to meet him." Kid said.

"He tells stories for five hours!" Black Star replied.

"Five hours? Who tells a story for five hours?" I said as I throwing up my arms but a second later I regretted it as pain shot through it starting at my shoulder.

"You okay?" Ripper asked frowning.

"I think I screwed up my shoulder when I landed on it earlier." I winced.

"You should go get it looked at in the infirmary." Tsubaki said.

"You think?" I asked looking at her.

"Well it won't do either of you any good if you're hurt. A Weapon isn't nearly as strong without his or her Meister." Liz said.

I sighed, "Alright. Where's the infirmary at?"

"I'll show you. Maka it looks like you might need some tending to as well." Kid said nodding towards where Maka was holding her wrist.

"I'm fine." Maka said shaking her head.

"Maka you're not fine." Soul said looking at her.

Maka sighed, "Fine."

Soon Maka and I were seated on two of the beds that lined one corner of the room as Nygus and Stein checked us out.

"Well Nova it seems that you've separated your shoulder." Stein said turning the screw on the side of his head.

"Is that bad?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Not as bad as it could be. You'll be in a sling for a few days and you'll need to rest it and use ice. I'll give you some pills in case you have any pain."

"How long will she have to be in the sling?" Ripper asked.

"Not long. A few days…a week at most. Until then you're sidelined from all physical activities." Stein said and with that he headed to go and get me a sling.

"Do you need anything?" Ripper asked.

"Could you get me some water?" I asked.

He smiled, "Sure. I'll go get our bags from the gym."

"Thanks." I replied returning the smile.

"You're pretty good. I can see why Lord Death put you and Ripper straight into the advanced classes." Maka said. Soul had disappeared a short time earlier when Death Scythe Albarn had come in sobbing over his injured Maka. Maka had smacked him with a book and Soul had dragged him off to some unknown place.

"Thanks you and Soul are good too." I said.

"Thanks. I want you to know that I'm sorry about what happened yesterday." Maka said.

"So am I." I replied.

"Do you think we could try again?" she asked.

"Sure. So friends from here on out?" I asked.

"I'd say more of friendly rivals." she smiled.

"Sounds good to me. I can't make promises on how friendly I'll be with Soul though." I said looking at her.

Maka smiled, "Don't worry Soul isn't as bad as he seems sometimes. I'm sure that you two will be friends in no time."

I wanted to tell Maka that I wasn't so sure about that but just then Nygus came back with a brace for Maka's arm at the same time that Stein reappeared with my sling. Once both were fitted on us we were dismissed with notes that we could go home along with our Weapons.

Maka and I walked out of the Infirmary in search of Ripper and Soul whom we found talking and laughing outside the gym.

"How's your wrist?" Ripper asked Maka as we approached.

"Just sprained my wrist. It'll be better in a few days." Maka replied.

"Good. So are we going to class or…?" Ripper asked.

"They send us home for the day." I replied.

"Awesome." Ripper smiled.

The four of us headed out of the DWMA and Soul and Maka headed towards Soul's bike.

"Try not to nearly hit someone this time!" I called as they walked towards it.

"Don't walk in the road then!" Soul spat back. I hadn't meant it serious but if he was going to be an ass about it then I could be too.

"Albino boy!" I shouted.

"Psycho!" Soul retorted and with a rev of his bike he took off down the steps nearly sending Maka flying off in the process.

I sent a particular hand gesture his way as Ripper and I walked towards Death City.

"You know Soul really isn't that bad." Ripper said looking at me.

"I saw that you two were getting on pretty well." I replied.

"Like I said he isn't that bad. I tried to tell him the same about you." Ripper said.

"Yeah I still don't see him and I being great friends any time soon." I said with a scowl.

Ripper just shook his head and we continued on our way home. Soon we arrived at the apartment and started the walk up to our place.

"Jesus what do you have in this thing? Bricks?" Ripper grimaced as he adjusted my gym bag on his shoulder. I couldn't carry my bag with my shoulder the way it was so he was suck with the duty.

"No. Just my after gym clothes, a towel and a book." I replied.

"Let me guess your copy of The Complete Works Of Shakespeare?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm half way done with Othello." I replied.

He just shook his head and started to say something when we reached our floor and I saw that our door was open.

"Did you forget to close the door?" I asked.

"No. I remember locking it and everything." Ripper replied.

"Damn. Someone must have broken in. What if they're still in there? I can't fight with my shoulder messed up." I said.

"Don't worry. I got this." Ripper smirked and sat our bags down, morphing his arm into a Katana blade.

Carefully the two of us tiptoed into the apartment. Nothing seemed to be disturbed which I could tell bothered both of us by the look Ripper was giving me. However a second later I spotted a familiar hoodie tossed onto the couch haphazardly, a just as familiar duffle bag on the floor below it.

I put my uninjured arm out and stopped Ripper, "I know exactly who is here."

"Who?" he asked.

I crooked my finger at him, bidding him to follow me and walked into the kitchen. Sure enough the fridge door was open. A moment later a head full of spiky black hair popped up from the other side, cheeks puffed out with potato chips.

It was just as I had thought. I was staring at my younger brother Hype.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey! What's up? Long time no see!" Hype grinned as he swallowed his mouthful of food.

"Don't 'long time no see' me Hyperion Dante. What in Death's name are you doing here?!" I asked looking at him.

"Eating?" he smirked.

I glared at him and his smirk wilted. I was older and I used it to my advantage most times. Hype may have been nearly a food taller than me but he knew I could take him down without so much as a blink. I had a mean headlock and right hook and didn't hesitate to use them on him, the former rather than the latter though.

"I mean what are you doing in Death City?! You're supposed to be with Grandma and Grandpa!" I said.

"It was boring there Nova!" Hype whined as he pulled a bottle of Gatoraid from the fridge.

I grabbed it from him, "Close the damn door! You're going to let the heat in and spoil everything."

"Jeeze." He muttered under his breath.

"Living room now." I said and shoved him towards the living room.

Scowling at me he walked into the other room and plopped down on the couch beside his coat. With a sigh I began pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Hype do you know how worried Grandma and Grandpa are going to be when they see you're gone? Did you even consider that?!" I asked looking at him.

"What happened to your shoulder?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter I-" I started but Ripper cut me off.

"We were in this awesome battle with this other Weapon Meister team! They're the top team at the DWMA! The Meister's Dad is even a Death Scythe!" Ripper said plopping down beside Hype.

"Are you serious?! Like a real Death Scythe?! Holy shit!" Hype said.

"Yeah and-" but I cut Ripper off this time.

"I'm trying to make a point here Ripper. Do you MIND?" I asked glaring at my partner.

"Oh. Sorry." Ripper replied and shut his mouth.

"Now back to you. Aren't you concerned with Grandma and Grandpa at all?" I asked.

"Not really. They sort of know I'm here." Hype said fiddling his thumbs.

"What do you mean they know? There is no way that they let you come all the way out here." I replied.

"Well…I may have forged a letter from Dad telling them that I was supposed to come stay out here with you and Ripper so I could start my training at the DWMA." he said.

"You what? Hype! What is Dad going to say?" I asked.

"I was hoping that my beautiful big sister and her awesome weapon partner might be able to help me with that." he said grinning at both of us.

"Hey don't drag me into this man." Ripper said putting his hands up.

"C'mon Sis…please? I want to start my training so bad. I know Dad wants to teach me himself but I really want to train at the DWMA. I know if you call Dad he'll totally let me stay. I would totally do the same for you." Hype said and flashed me a look with his big brown eyes.

I sighed, "I can't believe I'm going to do this."

"YES! I LOVE YOU!" Hype grinned and grabbed me, hugging me tight.

"Ow! Dipshit! My shoulder!" I said pushing him away.

"Oops…sorry." he replied stepping back.

"I'll go call Dad. However if he says you're out of here you're out. Got it?" I said looking at him.

"Gotcha." he nodded.

I walked over to my gym bag and pulled my cell and the bottle of pills that Professor Stein had given me. Heading into the kitchen I filled a glass with water and swallowed one of the pills down before dialing my Dad's number.

"Hey Cookie!" My dad answered after a few rings.

"Hey Dad." I smiled at my childhood nickname as I sat down at the table.

"So how is everything going? You and Ripper having fun at the DWMA?" he asked.

"Yeah totally. We even have a rival team." I replied.

Dad let out a laugh, "Really now?"

"Mhmm. It's actually Death Scythe Albarn's daughter Maka and her partner Soul Evens. We even had a practice fight today." I said.

"How did you and Ripper do?" he asked.

"It was a tie and in the end she sprained her wrist and I separated my shoulder." I replied.

"Are you okay?" Dad asked sounding concerned.

"I'm fine. A little sore though because your son just hugged me and threw me around the country." I replied.

"What?" Dad asked.

"Your son Hyperion. He just threw me around the living room of my apartment in Death City." I replied.

"What is Hype doing in Death City?" Dad asked his voice raising.

"He tricked Grandma and Grandpa into believing that you wrote a letter saying he should come here to train." I said.

Dad sighed, "I can't believe this."

"I can. You know he begged to go with Ripper and I. You're the one who told him no." I replied.

"I know but I want to train him. I don't want to miss out on seeing him grow as a Weapon." he said.

I shook my head, "Dad…you and Issac are chasing Kishins. Hype is sitting in Florida rotting away going to normal school when he could be here training and finding a partner who will turn him into a Death Scythe. Honestly he should be here. Mom would agree."

Dad sighed again, this time heavier than before.

"I guess so. Would you be willing to take him in though?" he asked.

"Of course. Ripper and I have a pull out he can camp on. The two of them get along great so that won't be a problem. The only problem I can foresee is he won't listen." I replied.

"Let me talk to him. I'll straighten him out." Dad said.

"Alright." I said and leaned away from the phone.

"HYPE! DAD WANT'S TO TALK TO YOU!" I call and a moment later he bounded into the room.

I handed the phone to him and watched as he talked. There were a lot of grunts, a few uses of the word 'okay' and finally and nod before Hype handed it back to me.

"Alright I've told him that he has to listen to you if he want's to stay in Death City. He has to abide by whatever curfew you set for him and any other rules you set but you also need to remember not to be so hard on him. Okay Cookie?" he asked.

"Yeah." I replied.

"Good. I love you two. Issac and I might even be in the area here in a few weeks if this Kishin we're tracking follows the path we think he's taking. We'll stop by and see what you three are up to." Dad said.

"Sounds great. Tell Issac I said hey." I smiled.

"I will. You go and rest that shoulder. The more you do the faster you'll get better. A Weapon isn't nearly as strong without a Meister and Ripper needs you." Dad said.

"Alright. Later." I said and hung up the phone.

"So you're staying but remember what Dad said." I warned.

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Hype said saluting me.

I rolled my eyes and used my good arm to smack him upside his head, "C'mon loser."

We walked back into the living room where Ripper was flipping through channels.

"Anything good on?" I asked as I sat down on the couch beside him.

"Nope. So what's going on with Hype?" Ripper asked.

"I get to stay." Hype grinned

"Awesome!" Ripper replied and high-fived him.

"I say we go out tonight and celebrate the fact that Hype's staying. What do you guys say?" I asked.

"Hell yeah!" the chorused.

"Great. How about that Mexican place we went the first night we were here?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me." Ripper said.

"Me too. Can we go now? I'm starving!" Hype replied.

"I hear that." Ripper agreed.

"Jeez you two eat like you're never going to eat again sometimes." I said shaking my head but none the less I got up and headed to my room.

"Where are you going?" Hype asked.

"To change? I don't know about you two but I don't enjoy smelling like sweat and being sticky." I replied and without another word I headed into the bathroom.

I sat across the table at Taco Muerte from both my Weapon and my little brother, watching as they downed food faster than I could blink. The plates were piling up quick and I had lost count of the tacos they'd consumed. If I hadn't seen it before I would've been slightly impressed.

"Are you going to eat that?" Hype asked pointing to the chicken taco on my plate.

"Yes! Eat what you have. Leave my food alone you garbage disposal." I replied putting my hands protectively around my plate.

Hype stuck his tongue out at me before digging back into his own plate.

"Hey! Nova! Ripper!"

I tore my eyes away from the two weapons in front of me to see Maka and Soul walking into the restaurant with Tsubaki and Black Star behind them.

"Hey!" I smiled while Ripper nearly waved, his mouth full of Mexican rice.

The four of them walked over to our table and pulled up empty seats.

"So what are you guys up to?" I asked.

"Nothing much. We just thought we'd grab dinner. Soul loves this place." Maka replied.

"So who's this?" Tsubaki asked looking to Hype.

"Oh! This is my little brother Hyperion. Hype this is Maka, Tsubaki and-"

"I AM THE GREAT BLACK STAR!" Black Star said standing on the chair, pointing a finger at Hype.

"Yeah I heard about you." Hype replied.

"Ah-ha! So you've heard of my awesomeness!" Black Star said.

"Yeah…something like that." Hype said with a smirk.

Just before the others had shown up we'd been discussing the others. Ripper and I had both explained in detail about Black Star's ego.

Soul loudly cleared his throat and glared at me.

"Oh yeah and that's Soul." I replied quickly.

"Nice to meet you." Hype said.

"Hype moving in with us." Ripper said.

"Are you going to the DWMA?" Maka asked.

"Yeah! I can't wait!" Hype replied.

"Are you a Meister or a Weapon?" Tsubaki asked.

"He's a Weapon like our Dad." I said.

"Really? What kind?" Soul asked.

"War Hammer." Hype smirked proudly.

From there Soul, Tsubaki, Ripper and Hype launched into conversations about different aspects of being a weapon and Black Star was butting in ever now and then leaving me to talk to Maka.

"So how old is your brother?" Maka asked.

"13. He's been begging our Dad to let him train at the DWMA for years now." I replied.

"And he finally let him?" she asked.

I nodded, "He really wanted us to train with him and Ripper's dad Isaac but with the two of them off hunting a Kishin we needed someone to train us so here we are."

Maka began to say something when suddenly there was a crash. Suddenly I felt something cold spill into my lap and I saw it was my drink. The table had collapsed and sent everything flying. At the very end of the table Black Star was standing looking guilty.

"Black Star! You need to watch what you're doing!" Tsubaki admonished her Meister.

"I didn't mean to! It's not my fault that I can't control my greatness!" Black Star replied.

Suddenly a girl with soft pink hair and large blue eyes walked up with a broom and dustpan.

"We're very sorry about all of this." Maka said and she looked down at her white shirt which was splattered with salsa and refried beans.

"It's okay these tables are old." the girl said and I saw that her nametag read 'Mary'.

"Let us help." Tsubaki, who had bits of rice stuck in her cleavage, said.

"Oh no! You should go clean yourselves up. Really…I have this. It's my job." Mary smiled.

Maka, Tsubaki and I headed for the Women's to clean up.

"I'm so sorry you guys. Sometimes Black Star gets carried away. He can't help himself." Tsubaki said.

"It's okay Tsubaki. Really." Maka said.

"I agree. It was just an accident." I agreed as I dabbed a paper towel over my damp jeans.

When the three of us were cleaned up we headed out to join the others. The table had been replaced and the floor was now clean, the guys waiting for us by the door. We all said goodbye and headed out.

"So…guess what." Ripper said after we'd gone our separate ways from the others.

"Would whatever you have to say have something to do with the reason you're smiling like an idiot?" I smirked.

"Maybe." he said.

"Okay then what?" I asked looking at him.

"I got that girls number." he smirked.

"What girl?" I asked.

"The one with the pink hair that cleaned up the mess Black Star made." Hype replied.

"Oh! Mary right?" I asked.

"Yeah. She wants me to call her later so we can make plans for this weekend." he said grinning like an idiot.

"Go Ripper." I grinned giving him a playful shove.

"Thank you." Ripper smirked.

We headed home and I found that I was exhausted and my shoulder was aching again. I bid my brother and Ripper goodnight and warned them to keep the noise to a minimum before heading to my room. After changing out of my wet clothes and into my pajamas I popped a pain pill and crawled into bed.

In the other room I heard the guys arguing as they played a video game. I now had my best friend and my little brother living with me. Something told me there wouldn't be a quiet night in my future anytime soon. However I was okay with that.


End file.
